Railroad cars such as freight railroad cars are used to transport a variety of products. Certain railroad cars are configured to transport relatively large coils such as steel coils. These railroad cars are often referred to in the railroad industry as transverse coil cars. A typical transverse coil car is diagrammatically shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3. The typical transverse coil car, generally indicated by numeral 20, includes five longitudinally aligned troughs or compartments 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d, and 22e which are each configured to respectively hold steel coils 30a, 30b, 30c, 30d, and 30e. The number of troughs may vary in different transverse coil cars. Each of the troughs extends across or transversely to the length (and direction movement) of the railroad car. The troughs are positioned one after the other along the length of the transverse coil car. Each trough typically has a floor including a bottom wall, a front wall, and a back wall, and spaced-apart side walls or sills. The front and back walls are angled or sloped. Each trough also typically has transversely extending coil supports such as wooden boards (not shown) respectively attached to the front wall and to the back wall. For each trough, the front wall (with the boards) and the back wall (with the boards) of the trough are configured to support a steel coil and prevent the steel coil from moving forward or backward in that trough.
The steel coils are loaded into each of the troughs of a transverse coil car by a suitable crane (not shown). Each of the steel coils are typically wrapped and banded in a conventional manner. The steel coils typically weigh anywhere from approximately 4000 pounds to approximately 60,000 pounds. The steel coils are typically approximately 30 inches to approximately 84 inches wide. Each steel coil is placed in the trough with a portion of its front surface engaging the boards attached to the front wall and with a portion of its back surface engaging the boards attached to the back wall. Different size steel coils engage the boards at different positions. The steel coils may be different based on their width, height or length. When the steel coils are loaded in a transverse coil car, they are preferably respectively centered in the troughs and equally distributed by weight in the troughs of the transverse coil car.
One problem which has arisen with these transverse coil cars is that the steel coils tend to drift or shift from the central positions where they are initially loaded in the respective troughs to one side or another in the respective troughs during movement or travel of the transverse coil cars. One or more of the coils are also sometimes not placed exactly in the central position in the trough which increases the likelihood of this sideways shifting. In some instances, as the trains move along the tracks, the coils develop the frequency of the movement of the train which excites the coils and further increases this sideways movement. Because the steel coils are heavy relative to the transverse coil car, the drifting or shifting of the steel coils in the troughs or compartments to one side of the transverse coil car can cause the transverse coil cars to become inappropriately weighted or lopsided and in certain instances to tip over and derail the freight train. A derailed train can cause extensive damage and injury, is disruptive, and is expensive and time consuming to remedy.
One proposed solution to this problem has been to use wooden blocks to brace the bottoms of the steel coils to prevent them from moving sideways. More specifically, after a steel coil is positioned in the trough, wooden blocks are cut to size and are secured to the deck (such as the wooden boards) of the trough adjacent to each side of the steel coil to prevent the steel coil from moving sideways in the trough. This is an extremely labor intensive, time-consuming and expensive process. Additionally, after the steel coil is removed, the blocks and the securing devices used to secure the blocks become waste or unwanted dunnage. These blocks often cannot be reused because different size steel coils are placed in the troughs. Additionally, the blocks often cannot be reused because, even if the steel coil is of the same size as the previous steel coil placed in the trough, it is not positioned in the trough in exactly the same place as the previous steel coil. Thus, different size blocks must be used to prevent the shifting of the steel coil and the previous blocks become useless.
Another problem with blocking the steel coils in this manner is that people must enter the troughs to place the blocking in the troughs and to remove the blocking. These people can get hurt during these processes (especially since the front and back walls of the toughs are sloped). Railroads desire to avoid having people enter the troughs at all to avoid injuries.
Another proposed solution has been to place flat rubber mats in the troughs attached to the boards of the front and back walls to provide additional frictional engagement with the steel coils. Another similar proposed solution has been to place conveyor belts or conveyor belt material in the trough to increase the frictional engagement with the steel coil. These solutions have not solved the problem. Another proposed solution has been to angle or taper the side walls of the trough. This proposed solution has not been employed and is unlikely to work.
Accordingly, there is a need for a relatively inexpensive, easy to install and an easily operable apparatus for preventing the transverse shifting of different size and differently positioned coils in the troughs of transverse coil cars. There is also a need for such an apparatus that is reusable and that does not waste materials.